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Eyes and Ears: More in Common Than You Think!

4 Reasons to Keep Your Hearing and Vision in Check

We all know that eyes and ears play a huge role in helping people — and animals, too! — experience life’s adventures. Seeing or hearing the people, places, and moments that matter can make for wonderful, lasting memories.

But did you know that seeing and hearing have more in common than just their rock-star status? Here are four reasons to make regular checkups for hearing and vision an important part of your overall health and wellness:

Hearing actually enhances the sense of sight, according to a UCLA study, with both working as a team to help you perceive and participate in the world around you. In the study, which ran participants through a series of trials to correctly identify the direction in which a display of dots were moving, hearing the direction in which the dots were collectively traveling enhanced participants’ ability to see the direction of the movement.

Visually impaired older adults are more likely to also experience hearing loss, per a study published in the medical journal JAMA Ophthalmology. Researchers investigating links between age-related vision and hearing problems found that even after considering age, the two conditions are somehow linked and “have a cumulative effect on function and well-being, significantly affecting both physical and mental domains.”

Vision and hearing loss go hand in hand with cognitive decline, per research showing that either condition is somehow connected to reduced brain functioning over time. One study, according to an online news article, found that participants with the most profound vision impairment had the lowest average scores on cognition tests. And hearing-impaired seniors on average may experience significantly reduced cognitive function at least three years before their normal-hearing counterparts.

Healthy eyes and ears — along with your joints, muscles, and brain — help keep you steady on your feet, reducing your risk of falling. It’s probably pretty obvious how seeing your best helps you stay upright, but many people may not realize that the inner ear also plays an important role in maintaining balance. Conversely, untreated hearing loss could nearly triple your risk of a fall, per a Johns Hopkins study.

Hearing and vision work together to help you live your best, so remember to keep them both in top shape. Start with a hearing checkup by contacting us today!